Rubber shoe



(No Model.) W. B. KINSLBY.

I V RUBBER SHOE. I

No. 573,664. Patented Dec. 22, 1896.

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UNITED STATES IVILLIAM B. KINSLEY, OF MELROSE,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE BOSTON RUBBER SHOE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RUBBER SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 573,664, dated December 22, 1896.

Application filed March 12,1896. Serial No. 582,872. (No model.)

To (all whont it 77?.(07 concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. KINSLEY, of Melrose, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rubber Shoes,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an article of foot wear comprising a rubber body portion which includes the parts usually known as the vamp, quarter, and s0le,andis made as a practically seamless part by combining suitably-formed pieces of unvulcanized rubber and uniting them by the process of vulcanizing, the said body portion being provided with a lining of textile fabric and a top portion of leather attached to the body portion and formed to inclose the ankle of the wearer.

The invention has for its object to provide a compact, simple, and durable connection between the body portion and the leather top;

and to this end it consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a shoe constructed in accordance with my invention. Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 represent sectional views taken on the line 50a: of Fig. 1, showing the shoe at different stages of its manufacture.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, (t represents the rubber body portion, and a the sole, of a shoe of the 3 5 class to which my invention relates, the said parts being connected to form a practically seamless structure by assembling them before vulcanization and vulcanizing them while they are in contact with each other in a man- 0 ner which is common and well known in the art of making rubber footwear.

b represents a leather top or leg portion which extends above the body portion and incloses the ankle of the wearer, said leather portion or top having provisions for confining it closely around the ankle of the wearer and for releasing it to permit the removal of the shoe from the foot. The said top is preferably composed of leather which is free from oil, so that it will not be injured by the heat to which the article is subjected during the vulcanizing process. The body portion is provided with a lining o composed of suitable textile fabric or fabric and rubber combined, as usual in rubber footwear.

In carrying out my invention I assemble and unite the described parts as follows: I first apply the lining a to a last d in the usual way, and then having previously applied a coating of cement to the lower portion of the inner surface of the leather top I), as indicated at b, Fig. 2, I secure to the outer side of the top I), by stitches 19 a staypiece 5 which is composed in part of unvulcanized rubber and in part of textile fabric. The said stay-piece projects below the lower edge of the leather top 1), as shown in Fig. 2.

I then apply the cement-coated portion of the leather top I) to the lining a as shown in Fig. 4, the cement causing the leather top to adhere firmly to the lining. I then apply the body portion a to the lasted lining after the usual manner of making rubber shoes, said body portion being at this time unvulcanized gum or rubber, its upper edge being abutted against the lower edge of the top 0, as shown in Fig. 5. I then press the stay-piece 11 against the outer surface of the unvu lcanized body sufficiently to cause the stay-piece and body to adhere to each other, thus preparing 8o them for firm and intimate union by the subsequent process of vulcanization. Ithen vulcanize the shoe in the usual manner, thus firmly uniting the body with the 'lining a and the stay-piece b with the body. The shoe is now completed so far as the union of the top I) with the body is concerned.

It will be seen that the cement connection between the leather top and the lining, the

stitches connecting the stay-piece to the leather top, and the intimate union of the stay-piece and the body caused by the vulcanizing process constitute a very-strong and durable connection between the leather top and the body portion. The stitches 17 pass through the fabric of the stay-piece, which supports the stitches and prevents them from cutting through the stay-piece.

It will be seen that the three relatively strong and tough parts, namely, the lining, the leather top, and the stay-piece, united by stitches extending through the said parts,

constitute a very strong and durable structure, securely holding the relatively weak part, namely, the rubber body, which is interposed between the lining and stay-piece and secured to each by vulcanization. The upper edge of the rubber body is covered and protected by the stay-piece, so that there is noliability of said edge being displaced outwardly or torn away from the part to which it is secured.

The edges of the leather top and rubber body being abutted together, the thickness of the shoe at the upper edge of therubber body is increased over that of an ordinary rubber shoe (without a top) only by the stay-piece, which is so thin that it does not make the shoe undesirably thick and bulky at the junction of the leather top and rubber body.

I claim 1. A shoe of the character specified, comprising a rubber body, a cloth lining therefor, a leather top, and a stay-piece stitched to the leather top above the rubber body and vulcanized to the rubber body below the leather top.

2. A shoe of the character specified, comprising a rubber body, a cloth lining therefor extended above the rubber body, a leather top cemented to the projecting portion of the lining and having its lower edge abutted against the upper edge of the rubber body, and a stay-piece stitched to the leather top and lining above the rubber body, extending downwardly across the joint between the said top and body, and vulcanized to the rubber body below said joint.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 5th day of March, A. D. 1896.

WILLIAM B. KINSLEY.

Vitnesses:

O. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISON. 

